SAS-PHX Game Two: The Blue Pill

You take the blue pill and the story ends. You wake in your bed and you believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill and you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.

 
Remember that all I am offering is the truth. Nothing more.

 - Morpheus, The Matrix

 
When I dropped my educated guess on the playoffs, I predicted the Spurs would win their series against Phoenix in five games. C.Y. Ellis marked it as one of the craziest parts of our HoopsVibe playoff preview, noting Jason Kelly was predicting the Suns would defeat the Spurs in the same amount of games.

 
Not to pound my chest too much, but my swagger never stuttered.

 
Understand this first and foremost: All the San Antonio Spurs have done is what they’re supposed to do. As Sir Charles would say, a series doesn’t start until somebody drops a contest at home. But make no mistake about it, for the Spurs, a team that has failed to repeat more than once because they beat themselves, doing what they’re supposed to is a damn good sign for the SA-Town faithful.

 
I said what I said, spun the crystal ball like I did, not out of homerism or wishful thinking, but because of solid basketball logic. Whether the Spurs win in five like I said they would, or choke and lose four straight, I won’t back down from the fact that what I said makes perfect sense.

 
Tony Parker lit up Phoenix in game two for 32 points on 13-25 shooting, mostly in a slew of lay-ups and shots in the paint. Manu Ginobili tossed 29 of his own off the bench. Why? Because Raja Bell can only guard one person (Phoenix area scientists are working on a cloning method to create Raja2). And Steve Nash guards Tony Parker about as well as a blind guy with cerebral palsy plays ping pong.

 
I postulated that Phoenix letting go of Kurt Thomas would lead to an explosion for Tim Duncan, because despite the media and fan’s wishes, Shaq can’t guard TD for shit, not consistently and without getting in foul trouble. I was essentially proven correct in game one when Timmy went off for 40.

 
Now in game two the absence of another former Sun was felt – Shawn Marion. Quite honestly, Jason, I don’t care how many C-grade porn stars Marion feels like banging, dude can straight play defense with the best of them. And now, with Parker running his shit on sixth gear, Phoenix is left wondering what their options are defensively. As I said, Bell can only guard one player at a time. To start the game it’s fine, but once Manu comes in off the bench, the Suns are left exposed one way or another.

 
Grant Hill can’t guard Parker. Let’s be clear: Hill isn’t struggling to guard Parker because of his groin injury – he has a groin injury because he’s struggling to guard Parker. I don’t blame him; my shit would be twisted too if I had to check a French blur speeding all over the court. 

 
Whether bitter Suns fans are willing to face it or not, Marion was the answer for the Suns when it came to slowing down Parker, and now that he’s gone, the Suns have no way to stop the speedy point guard.

 
I said it at the start of the series, and I’ll continue to reiterate it whether the Spurs continue to win or not: Phoenix has no answer for the top offensive options on San Antonio.

 
In the movie The Matrix Morpheus offers Neo a choice between a blue pill and a red pill,
essentially offering a life with or without the Matrix. Phoenix chose the blue pill.

 
Believe whatever you want to believe...

Remember that all I’m offering is the truth. Nothing more.

[image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nenita_casuga/]